MTel R2: Anand beats Topalov with black

by ChessBase
5/12/2006 – This is going to be an exciting event for sure. In round two Anand traumatised the Bulgarian nation by beating their hero, FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov, with the black pieces. And very convincingly too. Peter Svidler defeated Ruslan Ponomariov; Kamsky beat Bacrot in an endgame scramble. Games and summary.

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Round two report

Round 2: Friday, May 12, 2006

Veselin Topalov 
0-1
 Vishy Anand
Gata Kamsky 
1-0
 Etienne Bacrot
Peter Svidler 
1-0
 Ruslan Ponomariov

All games so far in PGN

Standings

Round 2 Wrap-up: A wild round with all three games decisive. That makes four decisive games after two rounds. Last year it took five rounds to hit that number. The much anticipated heavyweight brawl between the world's top two players did not disappoint. That is, if you're an Anand fan. Topalov may be rated #1 and have the FIDE title belt, but it didn't stop him from being demolished by Anand in a brilliant effort on the black side of the Ruy Lopez. A quiet opening and equal middlegame exploded into flames and Topalov was quickly toasted and bagged.

With the win Anand moved to 2/2, both wins coming with the black pieces. He is pursued by Peter Svidler and Gata Kamsky, who both won today to move to 1.5/2. Svidler kept Ponomariov on the run. Kamsky played a new idea in the Spanish with 13.Rb1 against Bacrot and backed up his novelty with strong play that netted a pawn. The rook and pawn endgame they reached "should" be drawn, but it turned into an adventure. Several times it looked like a simple draw, but Bacrot avoided the simple and Kamsky kept up the pressure. It came all the way down to rook versus knight with no pawns! This is tricky but usually drawn at the master level but both players were terribly short on time (no time increment in Sofia) and reaching the seventh hour of play, it was far from tablebase perfect. It was drawn, then lost, then drawn, then finally Kamsky put the hammer down after the Frenchman's final mistake.

The Brooklynite Kamsky runs into the Anand buzzsaw in tomorrow's third round. These two have a long history, the latest chapter in which was written at Corus in January when the badly out of practice Kamsky stunned frontrunner Anand.

Round two: extensively annotated games by GM Mihail Marin


Picture gallery

The following cartoons are by Chavdar Nikolov. They can be seen in the Shades of Red restaurant in Grand Hotel Sofia.

The author is one of the most prominent Bulgarian caricaturists. His drawings have been published in many Bulgarian newspapers and magazines. He is the winner of the Grand Prix for caricature of the Union of Bulgarian Artists for 2004. Since 2005 he is the political caricaturist of Novinar daily newspaper.


Viswanathan Anand is a fakir from his motherland India


Frenchman Etienne Bacrot is handling a Gallic rooster


Gata Kamsky is a Tatar warrior with a US flag


Ruslan Ponomariov is a supporter of the Ukrainian “Orange revolution”


Peter Svidler is the ultimate cricket fan


Veselin Topalov is presented as the Bulgarian ruler Tzar Ivan Alexander

Schedule and results

Round 1: Thursday, May 11, 2006

Peter Svidler 
½-½
 Veselin Topalov
Ruslan Ponomariov 
½-½
 Gata Kamsky
Etienne Bacrot 
0-1
 Vishy Anand

Round 2: Friday, May 12, 2006

Veselin Topalov 
0-1
 Vishy Anand
Gata Kamsky 
1-0
 Etienne Bacrot
Peter Svidler 
1-0
 Ruslan Ponomariov

Round 3: Saturday, May 13, 2006

Ruslan Ponomariov 
 
 Veselin Topalov
Etienne Bacrot 
   Peter Svidler
Vishy Anand 
   Gata Kamsky
GamesReport

Round 4: Sunday, May 14, 2006

Etienne Bacrot 
 
 Veselin Topalov
Vishy Anand 
   Ruslan Ponomariov
Gata Kamsky 
   Peter Svidler
GamesReport

Round 5: Monday, May 15, 2006

Veselin Topalov 
 
 Gata Kamsky
Peter Svidler 
   Vishy Anand
Ruslan Ponomariov 
   Etienne Bacrot
GamesReport

Round 6: Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Veselin Topalov 
 
 Peter Svidler
Gata Kamsky  
   Ruslan Ponomariov
Vishy Anand 
   Etienne Bacrot
GamesReport

Round 7: Thursday, May 18, 2006

Vishy Anand 
 
 Veselin Topalov
Etienne Bacrot 
   Gata Kamsky
Ruslan Ponomariov 
   Peter Svidler
GamesReport

Round 8: Friday, May 19, 2006

Veselin Topalov 
 
 Ruslan Ponomariov
Peter Svidler 
   Etienne Bacrot
Gata Kamsky 
   Vishy Anand
GamesReport

Round 9: Saturday, May 20, 2006

Gata Kamsky 
 
 Veselin Topalov
Vishy Anand 
   Peter Svidler
Etienne Bacrot 
   Ruslan Ponomariov
GamesReport

Round 10: Sunday, May 21, 2006

Veselin Topalov 
 
 Etienne Bacrot
Ruslan Ponomariov 
   Vishy Anand
Peter Svidler 
   Gata Kamsky
GamesReport

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